1. Astronomy and planetary
exploration reveal the solar system’s structure,
scale, and change over time. As a basis for
understanding this concept:

a.

Students know
how the differences and
similarities among the sun, the
terrestrial planets, and the gas
planets may have been
established during the formation
of the solar system.

b.

Students know
the evidence from Earth and moon
rocks indicates that the solar
system was formed from a nebular
cloud of dust and gas
approximately 4.6 billion years
ago.

c.

Students know
the evidence from geological
studies of Earth and other
planets suggest that the early
Earth was very different from
Earth today. d.
Students know
the evidence indicating that the
planets are much closer to Earth
than the stars are. e.
Students know
the Sun is a typical star and is
powered by nuclear reactions,
primarily the fusion of hydrogen
to form helium.

f.

Students know
the evidence for the dramatic
effects that asteroid impacts
have had in shaping the surface
of planets and their moons and
in mass extinctions of life on
Earth.

g.*

Students know the evidence for
the existence of planets orbiting other stars.

2. Earth-based and
space-based astronomy reveal the
structure, scale, and changes in
stars, galaxies, and the
universe over time. As a basis
for understanding this concept:
a.

Students know
the solar system is located in
an outer edge of the disc-shaped
Milky Way galaxy, which spans
100,000 light years. b.
Students know
galaxies are made of billions of
stars and comprise most of the
visible mass of the universe. c.
Students know
the evidence indicating that all
elements with an atomic number
greater than that of lithium
have been formed by nuclear
fusion in stars. d.
Students know
that stars differ in their life
cycles and that visual, radio,
and X-ray telescopes may be used
to collect data that reveal
those differences. e.*
Students know
accelerators boost subatomic
particles to energy levels that
simulate conditions in the stars
and in the early history of the
universe before stars formed.

48Califor nia Department of Education Reposted June 11,
2009 G

RADES NINE THROUGH
TWELVE—EARTH SCIENCES

f.*

Students know
the evidence indicating that the
color, brightness, and evolution
of a star are determined by a
balance between gravitational
collapse and nuclear fusion.

g.*

Students know
how the red-shift from distant
galaxies and the cosmic
background radiation provide
evidence for the "big bang"
model that suggests that the
universe has been expanding for
10 to 20 billion years.

Dynamic Earth Processes

3. Plate tectonics operating
over geologic time has changed
the patterns of land, sea, and
mountains on Earth’s surface. As
the basis for understanding this
concept: a.

Students know
features of the ocean floor
(magnetic patterns, age, and
sea-floor topography) provide
evidence of plate tectonics. b.
Students know
the principal structures that
form at the three different
kinds of plate boundaries. c.
Students know
how to explain the properties of
rocks based on the physical and
chemical conditions in which
they formed, including plate
tectonic processes. d.
Students know
why and how earthquakes occur
and the scales used to measure
their intensity and magnitude.

e.

Students know
there are two kinds of
volcanoes: one kind with violent
eruptions producing steep slopes
and the other kind with
voluminous lava flows producing
gentle slopes.

f.*

Students know
the explanation for the location
and properties of volcanoes that
are due to hot spots and the
explanation for those that are
due to subduction.

Energy in the Earth System

4. Energy enters the Earth
system primarily as solar
radiation and eventually escapes
as heat. As a basis for
understanding this concept: a.

Students know
the relative amount of incoming
solar energy compared with
Earth’s internal energy and the
energy used by society. b.
Students know
the fate of incoming solar
radiation in terms of
reflection, absorption, and
photosynthesis. c.
Students know
the different atmospheric gases
that absorb the Earth’s thermal
radiation and the mechanism and
significance of the greenhouse
effect. d.*
Students know
the differing greenhouse
conditions on Earth, Mars, and
Venus; the origins of those
conditions; and the climatic
consequences of each.

4 9California Department of Education Reposted June 11,
20 09 G

RADES NINE THROUGH
TWELVE—EARTH SCIENCES

5. Heating of Earth’s surface
and atmosphere by the sun drives convection
within the atmosphere and oceans, producing
winds and ocean currents. As a basis for
understanding this concept:

a.

Students know
how differential heating of
Earth results in circulation
patterns in the atmosphere and
oceans that globally distribute
the heat. b.
Students know
the relationship between the
rotation of Earth and the
circular motions of ocean
currents and air in pressure
centers.

c.

Students know
the origin and effects of temperature
inversions. d.
Students know
properties of ocean water, such as temperature
and salinity, can be used to explain the layered
structure of the oceans, the generation of
horizontal and vertical ocean currents, and the
geographic distribution of marine organisms. e.
Students know
rain forests and deserts on Earth are
distributed in bands at specific latitudes. f.*
Students know
the interaction of wind patterns, ocean
currents, and mountain ranges results in the
global pattern of latitudinal bands of rain
forests and deserts. g.*
Students know
features of the ENSO (El Niño southern
oscillation) cycle in terms of

sea-surface
and air temperature variations
across the Pacific and some
climatic results of this cycle.

6. Climate is the long-term
average of a region’s weather
and depends on many factors. As
a basis for understanding this
concept: a.

Students know
weather (in the short run) and
climate (in the long run)
involve the transfer of energy
into and out of the atmosphere.
b.
Students know
the effects on climate of
latitude, elevation, topography,
and proximity to large bodies of
water and cold or warm ocean
currents.

c.

Students know
how Earth’s climate has changed
over time, corresponding to
changes in Earth’s geography,
atmospheric composition, and
other factors, such as solar
radiation and plate movement.

d.*

Students know
how computer models are used to
predict the effects of the
increase in greenhouse gases on
climate for the planet as a
whole and for specific regions.

Biogeochemical Cycles

7. Each element on Earth moves among
reservoirs, which exist in the solid earth, in
oceans, in the atmosphere, and within and among
organisms as part of biogeochemical cycles. As a
basis for understanding this concept:

50Califor nia Department of Education Reposted June 11,
2009 G

RADES NINE THROUGH
TWELVE—EARTH SCIENCES

a.

Students know
the carbon cycle of
photosynthesis and respiration
and the nitrogen cycle.

b.

Students know
the global carbon cycle: the
different physical and chemical
forms of carbon in the
atmosphere, oceans, biomass,
fossil fuels, and the movement
of carbon among these
reservoirs.

c.

Students know
the movement of matter among
reservoirs is driven by Earth’s
internal and external sources of
energy. d.*
Students know
the relative residence times and
flow characteristics of carbon
in and out of its different
reservoirs.

Structure and Composition of the Atmosphere

8. Life has changed Earth’s
atmosphere, and changes in the atmosphere affect
conditions for life. As a basis for
understanding this concept:

a.

Students know
the thermal structure and chemical composition
of the atmosphere. b.
Students know
how the composition of Earth’s atmosphere has
evolved over geologic time and know the effect
of outgassing, the variations of carbon dioxide
concentration, and the origin of atmospheric
oxygen. c.
Students know
the location of the ozone layer in the upper
atmosphere, its role in

absorbing
ultraviolet radiation, and the
way in which this layer varies
both naturally and in response
to human activities.

California Geology

9. The geology of California
underlies the state’s wealth of
natural resources as well as its
natural hazards. As a basis for
understanding this concept: a.

Students know
the resources of major economic
importance in California and
their relation to California’s
geology. b.
Students know
the principal natural hazards in
different California regions and
the geologic basis of those
hazards. c.
Students know
the importance of water to
society, the origins of
California’s fresh water, and
the relationship between supply
and need.

d.*

Students know
how to analyze published
geologic hazard maps of
California and know how to use
the map’s information to
identify evidence of geologic
events of the past and predict
geologic changes in the future.

5 1California Department of Education Reposted June 11,
20 09 G

RADES NINE THROUGH
TWELVE—INVESTIGATION AND EXPERIMENTATION

Investigation and Experimentation



1. Scientific progress is made by asking
meaningful questions and conducting careful
investigations. As a basis for understanding
this concept and addressing the content in the
other four strands, students should develop
their own questions and perform investigations.
Students will:

g. Recognize the usefulness
and limitations of models and
theories as scientific
representations of reality.

h. Read and interpret topographic and
geologic maps. i. Analyze the locations,
sequences, or time intervals that are
characteristic of

natural phenomena (e.g.,
relative ages of rocks,
locations of planets over time,
and succession of species in an
ecosystem).

j. Recognize the issues of statistical variability and the
need for controlled tests.

k. Recognize the cumulative nature of scientific evidence.

l. Analyze situations and
solve problems that require
combining and applying concepts
from more than one area of
science.

m. Investigate a
science-based societal issue by
researching the literature,
analyzing data, and
communicating the findings.
Examples of issues include
irradiation of food, cloning of
animals by somatic cell nuclear
transfer, choice of energy
sources, and land and water use
decisions in California.

n. Know that when an
observation does not agree with
an accepted scientific theory,
the observation is sometimes
mistaken or fraudulent (e.g.,
the Piltdown Man fossil or
unidentified flying objects) and
that the theory is sometimes
wrong (e.g., the Ptolemaic model
of the movement of the Sun,
Moon, and planets).